Gun Hypocrisy

Puzzling me for a long time is the inconsistency between two claims by gun and Second Amendment supporters. One is that what they worship is critically needed to defend themselves against a government that they would view as oppressive and unacceptable. The other is their belief that the US government has already become awful, stealing their liberties.

Why then, I keep asking myself, have we not seen a violent uprising among the untold millions of Americans owning guns to take back their government? Why do we not see what goes on in European nations, namely violent public uprisings against governments?

There is more private gun ownership in the US than any other nation. We have a far right part of the population with considerable public presence and power. FOX News, the Tea Party movement, and countless groups and think tanks angrily attacking the mainstream media, liberals, and leftist politicians as well as just about everything done by President Obama.

So, why hasn’t the massive number of gun nuts who keep expressing their love of the Second Amendment actually done what they claim is exactly needed, what the Second Amendment was created to give them the right to do, and what their massive gun power supposedly gives them the means to accomplish? Especially when they lose major elections, when their Republican and conservative politicians fail to deliver to them?

Are the paranoid doom and gloom gun nuts waiting for things to get a whole lot worse before they actually implement the grand plan to use their guns to overthrow what they see as an evil, unconstitutional and oppressive government?

From their perspective, how much worse does the government have to become before they finally get the courage to use their guns and restore American democracy and liberties? Do they think elections will save their nation?

After all, on a number of recent occasions, such as the election and reelection of President Obama, gun and ammunition sales have skyrocketed, despite an already historic level of gun and ammunition ownership. Yet still these millions of gun-happy constitutionalists do not act. What is going on?

Is it rational to explain all this by seeing the gun crowd as being incredibly patient?

Is all their talk and high-minded claims to be the last hope to save the country just a bunch of empty rhetoric?

Here is what I think explains this remarkable contradiction. In truth, the gun crowd that see themselves as the ultimate patriots, like the original revolutionaries that fought the British and created the USA, is itself conflicted by self-interests. That is, most gun owners are receiving so many economic benefits from the existing government and economy that they are unwilling to risk all of them by a massive disruption of the whole US system. Just like we saw incredible numbers of protesting Tea Party people looking old enough to be collecting Social Security and Medicare benefits, the overwhelming majority of gun nuts are also feeding off of the national system they keep attacking. They keep buying more expensive guns and ammunition, gold and hordes of long-lasting food to satisfy their paranoid thoughts. They keep giving money to right wing causes. They listen all the time to right wing radio and TV pundits. They have enough wealth to afford lots of things, especially expensive guns. Yet they do not ACT. They do not REVOLT. Even when their favored politicians lose.

Most of us do not equate the gun crowd with the plutocracy run by the richest Americans and corporate interests that aligns itself with Republicans and conservatives. The plutocrats, however, have no desire for a revolution that tears down the whole US political and economic system that they so benefit from. What the plutocracy has accomplished, against all logic, is to manipulate the gun crowd into supporting political causes that maintain the status quo that allows the upper rich to get richer. We have far more economic oppression than political oppression.

In other words, keep spending your discretionary money on guns and ammunition and all the other things so heavily marketed to the most paranoid people as evidenced by all the advertisements on right wing stations for gold and stable foods that allow people to survive when the ultimate catastrophe finally happens. Keep thinking that you need guns to combat criminals, except there is no evidence that crime has actually been curbed by the massive gun ownership.

But by all means keep listening and spending rather than actually REVOLT and bring down the system. Enjoy your guns. Just don’t take any risks and use them as defensive political tools. Don’t do what so many angry Europeans have always done; actually go the streets to bring down governments. Or what we see Egyptians doing. Of course, all those angry citizens do not have guns. Still, they put their lives on the line.

The bottom line is that the whole gun Second Amendment movement seems like just another aspect of conspicuous consumerism that keeps the US economy humming. When I see millions of these right wing gun enthusiasts give up their Social Security and Medicare benefits I will start to take them more seriously.

CNN has recently reported important information, including: US gun owning population is on the decline with those gun owners stockpiling more firearms; 20 percent of the gun owners with the most firearms possessed about 65 percent of the nation’s guns; the US with 5 percent of the world’s population owns 50 percent of the world’s guns; the number of households owning guns has declined from almost 50 percent in 1973 to just over 32 percent in 2010.

The National Shooting Sports Foundation reported the economic impact of firearm sales — a figure that includes jobs. taxes and sales — hit $31 billion in 2011, up from $19 billion in 2008, an increase of 63 percent despite the economic recession.

There are good reasons to support better gun control laws, but fearing political revolution because of massive gun ownership may not be relevant. Democrats will likely keep fearing any emphasis on gun control even though the majority of their supporters favor gun control over gun ownership. As pointed out this year before the election: “Figures provided by Michael Dimock, Pew’s associate research director, show that the biggest shifts toward opposition to gun control have come among the same blue-collar whites who have displayed the greatest alienation to Obama across the board.” Also, note that Pew found 72 percent of Republicans said it is more important to protect the rights of gun owners, compared to just 27 percent of Democrats.

As to the roughly, at most, 100 million American gun owners, keep fighting more gun control laws. Keep buying even more guns, keep the multibillion dollar gun industry thriving. Keep screaming about your Second Amendment rights. Keep voting for Republicans. Keep listening to Limbaugh and Hannity and all the other idols that are among the richest Americans. Keep deluding yourselves that you are the only hope for the nation. Don’t face your hypocrisy. Delusion is the opiate of the right.

Or, just give up, bite the bullet and shoot yourselves. Make us gun control enthusiasts happy.

Joel S. Hirschhorn was a full professor, University of Wisconsin, Madison and a senior official at the Congressional Office of Technology Assessment and the National Governors Association; he is the author of four nonfiction books.Contact Joel S. Hirschhorn through http://articlev.wix.com/statusquobuster.

Comments

From what I see, hear, and read, Joel has done NOTHING but wail and whine on our situation here. Calling them “gun nuts” is derogatory, perhaps we need to come up with a name for idiots that think the power of their words is significant and not totally wasted.on sheer verbiage. How about “democracy dolts”? Yeah, Hirschorn, you are a democracy dolt, a mere euphemism for what we really think of you, an overt idiot. Get lost, fool

As to your question in the first six paragraphs, “Why haven’t the gun owners revolted?” I suggest you read some of the documents that our founding fathers relied upon. Specifically answering your question are A Discourse Concerning Unlimited Submission and Non-Resistance to the Higher Powers – Jonathan Mayhew; Cato’s Letters – Trenchard and Gordon; and Essay Concerning Civil Government – John Locke.

I love the typical phony, black and white, one size fits all, self serving, liberal (not libertarian) strawman Joelzey sets up. He makes a strawman that fits his naritive and presents it as intellectially valid, when it is anything but…. So, a “libertatian” wants to curtail #2 in the bill of rights? whats wrong with this picture? If he cant even be honest about what HE is, how can we believe his straw man? halarious, were in not so pathectically dishonest. apparently, words do NOT have meaning to phony “libertarian” leftists… WHO IS THE HYPOCRIT???!!?!

Anyone who advocates taking away the rights of people to do and say what they believe cannot be a Libertarian. Taking away the rights of citizens is post-progressive, socialist or communist all of the aforementioned are the same thing. The reason gun owners do not revolt is the fact that we are winning and will win the political debate about conservatism. Once we allow Obama to go down as the worst president in history the American people will beg for a Conservative Republican president.

The facts here are simply wrong. Many U.S. gun owners feel one reason to keep a gun is to protect themselves from a tyrannical government that exceeds its bounds sufficiently to warrant response with deadly force. Many of the same people believe government in the United States has become too tyrannical, and is getting worse. But relatively few believe it has reached the point where armed response is justified. These are a vocal minority, but a minority just the same. This of course raises the question: when will the currently peaceful gun owner crowd decide it’s time to rise up against the government. I suspect you’ll find few of them stupid enough to delineate openly the prerequisites for their becoming treasonous.

The first gets used daily, by both sides, the soap box. Everyone can have a chance to speak their mind about this.

The second gets used every 2-4 years, the ballot box. Unfortunately, the source of most information about candidates leans just a bit to the left, in much the same way the Tower of Pisa leans just a bit, leading to a lot of people not making an informed decision. A recent poll found that many Hispanics consider themselves conservative, supporting almost the entire Republican platform, but vote Democrat because they are convinced (by the media) that the Dems look out for them.

The third gets used less often (except in Illinois) but may be gaining traction, that is the jury box. If politicians were held to their oath of office, with legal consequences for not doing so, this one would be more effective.

We are all trying to avoid having to open the fourth box, the ammo box, because no one wants a revolution or civil war (definition depends on which side you end up on). The fact remains that it is a final option and one that, to a certain extent, keeps the government from getting worse.

There is actually yet another box that hopefully will not have to come into play: the pine box. Unfortunately with the way that things are currently headed, it probably will. If we cannot reach a peaceful resolution, it may very well result in that. The only question remaining is who will be in it?

Gun owners are stockpiling because they can read history, and history, especially in the 20th century, shows that unarmed people in socialist nations died by the millions, because the socialists in those regimes took their political beliefs to their illogical conclusions. We are now living in a socialist, tyrannical nation. Americans do not lightly, nor rashly, decide to hold a revolution, because political events go contrary to their wishes. They desire peace, while it can be had. So read the Declaration of Independence, and you will see those self same reasons. Advocating suicide by gun owning, peaceful, lawful, and loyal Americans only serves to show your transference of what you yourself believe to be the logical outcome of your anxieties. I recommend you seek professional counseling.

The Declaration of Independence contains one of the main reasons we put up with what we do. The Colonists put up with much Tyranny before the claimed their status as a free nation. They listed many of the “repeated injuries and usurpations” in the declaration. Read them and compare to what is happening now.

” Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.”

“There is more private gun ownership in the US than any other nation.”

According to Smallarmssurvey.org, the United States ranks first (88.1) in per capita civilian firearms ownership per 100, so the casual observer would believe the U.S. would be in top 10 in murders, or at least the top twenty. However, the U.S. is not even in the top 30. The U.S. ranked the 35 in the World murder rate. In 2009 that came to 5.0 per 100.000 in 2009, and 4.8 in 2010.

Switzerland ranks third (45.7) civilian firearms ownership per 100, and it unlikely that military weapons kept in Swiss homes are included since they are property of the Swiss Government, so the casual observer would believe that Switzerland would also have a high homicide rate. Yet, their murder rate was an extremely low 0.66 per 100,000 in 2009.

By contrast, El Salvador ranked 92nd in civilian firearms ownership (5.8) per 100, so the casual observer would believe that they would not be in the top fifty murder rate. However, they ranked first in the world murder rate at a staggering 71 per 100,000 in 2009, second in murder rate in 2010 with 66 per 100,000 in 2010, and second in 2011 at 71 per 100,000. Honduras ranked 88th in firearm ownership per 100 and they were first in 2011 world murder rate at a staggering 86 per 100,000.

That is because we, the firearms owners of America respect the rule of law and the will of the people. We know that losing an election does not represent a tyrannical government. Moreover, Mr. Hirschhorn and other citizen disarmament zealots and their organization assume that we are armed to protect ourselves exclusively against the Federal Government. The “Battle of Athens Tennessee” where armed citizens secured ballot boxes preventing voter fraud by the Sheriff and other politicians is an example of a tyrannical local government.

http://www.constitution.org/mil/tn/batathen.htm

“Keep thinking that you need guns to combat criminals, except there is no evidence that crime has actually been curbed by the massive gun ownership.”

Criminologists have found that U.S. citizens use firearms for self-defense 2.5 million times a year, and for every life that is lost to firearms violence 65 lives are saved by firearms in self-defense.

http://www.saf.org/LawReviews/KleckAndGertz1.htm

Suter E. “Guns in the Medical Literature – A Failure of Peer Review.” Journal of the Medical Association of Georgia. March 1994; 83: 133-48.

Furthermore, our right to Keep and BEAR arms have been increasingly restored over last several years and more citizens are now free to carry firearms in more places since the year 1900. Yet, homicides, including homicides with firearms, as well as all other violent crime have been decreasing since 2006. Moreover, after a dramatic increase in firearms sales and ownership after the last Presidential election including an increase in first time firearms purchases and an increase in firearms carry permits, citizen disarmament zealots and organizations predicted that there would be a corresponding increase in homicides and other violent crime. However, the U.S. homicide rate decreased from 5.0 per 100,000 in 2009 to 4.8 per 100,000 in 2010 and all other violent crime decreased as well.

Preliminary data from 2011 shows all Violent Crime was down 6.4%, Murder down 5.7%, Rape down 5.1%, Robbery down 7.7%, and Aggravated Assault down 5.9%.

“Democrats will likely keep fearing any emphasis on gun control even though the majority of their supporters favor gun control over gun ownership.”

False!

A Gallup Poll of October 26, 2011 found that 60% of those surveyed supported enforcing current gun laws more strictly and NOT pass any new laws while only 35% responded to enforce current gun laws more strictly and pass new gun control laws.

The same poll found that 55% of those surveyed supported keeping the laws covering the sale of firearms be kept the same as now or LESS strict while only 43% supported making the same laws stricter, and 53% of those surveyed opposed a law making it illegal for the manufacture, sale, or possession of semiautomatic firearms known as “Assault Weapons” which was up from 39% in 2000 while 43% supported such a ban which was down from 59% in 2000.

The poll also found that 73% of those surveyed oppose a ban on the possession of handguns except by police and other authorized persons and only 26% supported it which is a record low.

http://www.gallup.com/poll/150341/Record-Low-Favor-Handgun-Ban.aspx

Citizen disarmament zealots and their organizations ignore these inconvenient facts because they debunk their propaganda, deception.

Citizen disarmament zealots also ignore the fact that it has been found that there is no correlation between firearms ownership and homicide or suicide rates, and many of the countries with the strictest firearms prohibitions have higher homicide and suicide rates than nations without such restrictions.

“Or, just give up, bite the bullet and shoot yourselves. Make us gun control enthusiasts happy.”

We very know that citizen disarmament zealots and their organizations have a deep seated hatred for the common citizen in general and those of us who choose to exercise Constitutional right to keep and bear arms in particular.

Another misguided and delusional lefty. Don’t call yourself a libertarian. You are not one of us. If you’re wondering whether or not gun controls work, take a look at Chicago and DC’s crime rate. I’m not sure you lefties can actually read, but if you’d check crime statistics you’ll find that cities with the most gun control have the hightest crime rate. If you don’t like guns, don’t buy one. Leave my rights out of your discussions.

Under Just War Doctrine, armed force should be a last resort. (For an analysis of how Just War Doctrine applies to revolution, see my book RESISTANCE TO TYRANNY.) So long as honest elections are still held, so long as it is still legal to strike, to hold protest marches, to distribute anti-government literature, we’re not to the point of last resort. Just don’t push us that far.

Question: Why haven’t the gun owners revolted ? Answer: Their bark is worse than their bite. They know the reality of the situation, namely that they are SERIOUSLY out-armed !!! What the Hell good are some rifles with scopes, shotguns and handguns when the Military Industrial Complex can “Release the Hounds of War.” as they roll out their ungodly arsenal.

I am pretty that you are making a false assumption that an overwhelming majority of the military and law enforcement community would actually bring the “dogs of war” to the American people. Many service members are avowed Oathkeepers (one good thing that really started taking off after the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina).

Are you really so ignorant that you think experienced prior-military are going to fight the U.S. military? Why would we do that, when we can lay off at 600 meters and shoot the politicians (and their lackeys) who are making all of the laws and giving the unconstitutional orders? DO you really believe the military is so ignorant of the Constitution that they will obey unconstitutional orders to murder fellow Americans, fellow military who trained them? What a putz you are.

Could it possibly be because those you call gun “nuts” aren’t actually nuts, and they will only resort to armed insurrection when there is absolutely no alternative left? Seems like the nuts are the ones that make arguments like yours and come to some contortionistic conclusion while ignoring the painfully obvious conclusion most logically arrived at following your own arguments.

Oh, and nice touch there calling for mass suicides. And I suppose you are anti-gun based on some fallacious argument having to do with “saving” lives. Like most anti-gun idiots you have shown yourself to be anti-gun but pro-violence.

Progressives are now in effective control of everything to one degree or another, they need not be in a hurry with the regards to guns or anything else for that matter. Progressives have Carte Blanche to consolidate their power over us and when the time comes the american people will rush to stack their guns at the end of the street, it will be a simple matter to just drive around and pick’m up. Why? Who now controls the food, fuel, electricity, phones, all communications, we live in this highly technological society with switches and who controls those switches? A discussion of how this could possibly happen would serve no purpose, for it no longer matters. In the mean time the oligarchs don’t want to piss off armed america, until the time is right of course. This could possibly put them personally in danger along with their newely acquired assets. Now, they may be willing to have us fight amongst ourselves, that may serve their purpose. Oh, We can attempt to fight back, dying individually and in small groups, after all for progressives less can be more. Haven’t they already told us that? They did warn us did they not? They now count the votes folks and “once you lose your liberty it is gone forever”. I recall the hearings in Congress by computer experts that demonstrated how easy it was to hack the new voting machines leaving not a trace or weren’t you paying attention? Now all conservative media types can do is attempt to sell what happened books, render opinions and try to sound germain. “A republic if you can keep it”? I had a Grandfather, a member of the Continental Congress, a staunch Anti-federalist who fought for the Bill of Rights and the only reason he did not sign the Declaration was that he was fighting the British in upstate New York. He was the Clinton in The Clintonians and he insisted on the Bill of Rights before he would support the new Constitution. You can see him in the painting of George Washington riding into New York City as the British left, he’s the one right next to Washington. I believe he would without reservation be disgusted with progressives and ashamed of the rest of us. Myself included.

You’re shocked that gun owners don’t start killing people when our candidates lose? Is that the contradiction? I read the whole thing twice, I couldn’t get anything more profound out of it. Godawful writing.

It is because we are civilized. Conflict is not our normal state. We will avoid firing the first shot, but may if we have to. We are prepared to fire the last, if we have the opportunity. Some should keep their mouths shut and be thought fools, rather than open them and remove all doubt.

Fascinating, but bizarre. You do understand, Joel, that you are putting forth a STATIST argument , correct?

As to gun owners and their preparations, I’d make a quiet suggestion — what and why these people spend their money on is their business. The current government response is to ensure the civilians do not build up a stockpile of truly effective weapons. Your shotguns, AR’s, AK’s and .40 cal pistols aren’t going to do dick to an M1A1 tank or a combat helo. And your kevlar vest isn’t going to stop SAW fire or 120mm artillery shells. The battles in Libya and Egypt showed that such uprisings are viable, but without military support cost a staggering number of lives.

In any kind of ‘revolutionary’ environment, there must be a critical mass of people willing to die to effect change. The US is not even close to that point yet, except in the mind of lunatics. Your right to speech, to own guns, to walk around and move where you please, is unimpinged. Those who feel this is a socialist government are correct, but so is France.

This is not a dictatorial , oppressed nation, unless you consider the inability to buy military grade assault weapons, cocaine, slaves or Merkava tanks as ‘oppression’.

This guy is living in a bubble and has no idea people are buying guns to defend themselves AFTER the government has fallen and the money is worthless. Too ignorant to realize what is happening. If you have a gun, you keep your food, home and defend your family. If you don’t have a gun, your are fair game.

I am reminded of a picture I once saw, it was of suite cases standing in and open field and next to them piles of clothes left there by Jews just prior to a trip to the showers. Those piles represented all the stuff they had left, up to that point they were allowed to keep enough stuff to sooth some of their fears. If the stuff had been taken from them then denial was off the table. Joel is right in the sense that stuff to loose has kept and will keep Americans from rebelling in much the same ways that Jews were kept in line and under control by merely letting them keep some of their stuff. Optimism is a powerful force. I believe that we have been unloaded, marched into the field and are about to have the rest of our stuff taken from us. But first, the guns.

According to no less an authority than the peer-reviewed Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy, countries with stringent gun control laws have MUCH higher murder rates than those without.

WOULD BANNING FIREARMS REDUCE MURDER AND SUICIDE?, A Review of International and Some Domestic Evidence by Don B. Kates and Gary Mauser, Volume 30, Number 2 of the Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy (pp. 649-694) *

“If you are surprised by [our] finding[s], so [are we]. [We] did not begin this research with any intent to “exonerate” handguns, but there it is — a negative finding, to be sure, but a negative finding is nevertheless a positive contribution. It directs us where not to aim public health resources. ”

But Lefties don’t believe in facts that contradict their preconceived notions, prejudices and totalitarian agenda.

*To download a PDF copy of the journal article, simply Google the title. It is available on the web free of charge.

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